Being so close to the main Philippine island of Luzon, the Scarborough Shoal is a particularly sensitive piece of real estate.
The uninhabited coral reef was exploited both Filipino and Chinese fishermen, and was used as a bombing range by the United States Air Force until Washington closed bases in the Philippines in 1991. In 2012 Chinese vessels seized the shoal, following a tense standoff with Filipino ships.
The South China Morning Post reported, citing an anonymous military source, that Beijing will start reclamation work on the shoal later this year and may add an airstrip to extend the air force’s reach. Transforming the shoal into another military outpost so close to Manila and the busy Luzon Strait, which connects the South China Sea with the Pacific Ocean, would be the biggest challenge yet for the Philippines and its ally, the US.
China did not confirm nor deny the report.
The Philippines has contested China’s vast claims in the South China Sea at a United Nations tribunal, which is expected to rule soon in what many believe will be an unfavorable outcome for Beijing. China has refused to take part in the proceedings, and there are worries whether it might respond by cementing its island holdings, or even expanding them by fortifying Scarborough, too.
Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines College of Law’s Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, cited historical documents showing the US ceded the shoal to the Philippines as part of American administered territory at independence in 1946. This is evidence that the shoal is covered by the Mutual Defense Treaty, and thus, the US has an obligation to prevent it from being permanently controlled by China, he said.
The shoal, therefore, represents “a red line” to the US and its allies, he said.
China says Huangyan Island—Chinese for Scarborough—appears on maps as Chinese territory starting in 1935. Last week the new US Air Force contingent from Luzon flew sorties near Scarborough, drawing a mild rebuke from China.
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that Navy ships canceled a freedom of navigation operation scheduled for April, in order to “lower the temperature” in the South China Sea.
US lawmakers want more naval operations
Members of the US Congress are urging the Obama administration to order more naval operations in the South China Sea.
“I don’t know why we are not doing it weekly, or monthly,” said Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noting the US has about 60 percent of its naval vessels in the Pacific region.
Sen. Cory Gardner said sending US ships into the area every three months “is simply insufficient to send a strong message to China.”
Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said such operations will take place regularly.
Blinken agreed with Sen. Marco Rubio that China’s objective was control of the entire South China Sea. Blinken said China was alienating its neighbors and risked “conflict, instability and isolation,” unless it changed its approach and clarified its claims in accordance with international law.
China’s ‘consensus’ with 3 Asean members questioned
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement that Beijing had reached a consensus with Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and Lao PDR on the South China Sea has been met with some skepticism—and concern from other Asean members.
Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said that no new agreement with China on the issue has been reached. Laos and Vietnam, which is also squabbling with China, issued a joint statement pledging to accelerate the settlement of disputes in line with international law. They also called for a binding Code of Conduct to govern disputes, something Beijing has been reluctant to conclude.
Singapore’s senior diplomat Ong Keng Yong said Beijing may be trying to split the regional bloc.
“Having [the Chinese] foreign minister announce that two of non-claimant states, namely, Cambodia and Laos, have decided that they are not going to do this and that, seems to me like interfering in the domestic affairs of Asean,” said the former Asean secretary-general. China asked Singapore to clarify Ong’s comments.
Image credits: AP
1 comment
Dear our true ally & long time friend the U.S.A.- the
international police, Australia, Japan, New Zealand & South Korea. Please
also conduct now a regular military exercise at the West Philippine Sea because
the UNCLOS violator, bully, illegal land invader, trespasser, evil, communist
china is a real threat to peace and stability for the freedom of navigation and
overflight in the area and they already taken our island illegally thru force
and intimidation “THEY ALREADY TAKEN OUR ISLANDS FORCIBLY, ITS ALREADY AN
INVASION AND AN ACT OF WAR” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. If you are a true
friend in need why not just conduct a military exercise but enforce the law and
what is right dismantle & remove permanently the illegal island structures
put up by the evil-bully-UNCLOS violator-communist-china
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Remember World War 1 & 2 the Filipino people fight your war and millions of
our people died with your American soldiers. Do you remember!!!! Now we need
you. ITS AN ACT OF WAR AND YOU ARE DOING NOTHING JUST TALKING AND PASSING BY
ALL THOSE EXERCISES ARE USELESS AND BUYING TIME THE EVIL COMMUNIST CHINA
ALREADY TAKEN INVADED US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ” all it takes for
evil-bully-UNCLOs violator-invader-communist-china to triumph is that for good
men the U.S. the international police to do nothing” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!